What Makes Online Bingo So Popular?

Bingo’s always been a game that has enjoyed tremendous popularity and since it went online it’s become more popular than ever. It’s been estimated that there are more than 100 million online bingo players around the globe, and more than 85% of the worldwide online bingo industry income is generated in the United States. So what makes everyone enjoy this essentially simple game of chance so much?

For a start, now that the game is available 24/7 whenever you want to play, there’s no need to make time for bingo. You can play at any moment, for five minutes or for the whole evening. It’s a game you can play on the mobile just as easily as on a laptop or desktop, so it’s often something people play while away from home when they have a few minutes to spare. As the player input required in the game is so minimal – you simply have to choose what game and how many tickets – it’s a game that many people choose when they want to be entertained, but chill out at the same time. There aren’t any big decisions to make when playing a game of bingo.

Then there’s the range of bingo games that you can choose to play. Most sites offer 90 ball, 75 ball and 80 ball bingo varieties, as well as a selection of speed bingo games – great for when you have only a little time available to play.

Bingo’s also a game that is great value – with most of the games only costing a few pennies to play, you can play as often as you want without worrying about the cost. And when you first sign up on a site, you’ll get a certain amount of free credit to play with. Some sites offer to match what you put down as a first deposit, others do a lot better than that, either doubling your money or in some cases, giving you even more playing credit as a welcome bonus.

As well as the free credit, once you’re a depositing player, there are plenty of free games available on most bingo site schedules. So you can play for free and still have the possibility of winning cash. It’s the bingo sites’ way of improving customer loyalty.

There’s also the social side of online bingo. Unlike the land-based game, where chat is frowned upon, in the online version, it’s positively encouraged. You can end up talking to all kinds of people when playing online bingo, and it’s believed that this social aspect is what draws a lot of younger people to play the games. More than 29% of online bingo players are younger than you might imagine – aged between 18 and 34. Not only does online bingo give you the chance of winning big from a small stake, but you get to make new friends too.

There’s no doubt that bingo is one of the most popular real money games available online, but what does the future hold? Is there a chance that online bingo could come full circle?

One of the most entertaining aspects of bingo that you could argue has been lost in its transition to becoming an online game is the fact that there’s no longer a bingo caller. For many fans of the land-based version of bingo, listening to the number calls makes the game more interesting. However there’s every possibility that bingo might follow the same route as some online casino sites, where they offer live casino games as well as the software-generated ones.

If you can play live casino games where you watch a real person dealing your cards for you via the internet, why couldn’t the same be done with a live bingo game streamed from a bingo hall? Although it doesn’t exist as yet, it may be one of the developments for online bingo in the future.